Outside was lashed a good deal of the lighter stuff; I noticed a barrel of china, which looked much like our own, lashed directly over one wheel.

Then there were the massive blue army wagons, which were also heavily loaded; the laundresses with their children and belongings were placed in these.
At last the command moved out.

It was to me a novel sight.

The wagons and schooners were each drawn by teams of six heavy mules, while a team of six lighter mules was put to each ambulance and carriage.

These were quite different from the draught animals I had always seen in the Eastern States; these Government mules being sleek, well-fed and trained to trot as fast as the average carriage-horse.